[Pain-related disability in adolescents suffering from chronic pain. Preliminary examination of the Pediatric Pain Disability Index (P-PDI)].
BACKGROUND
Pain-related disability affects many children and adolescents suffering from chronic pain and may exert an impact on all areas of their lives. Reduction of pain-related disability is, therefore, a fundamental aim of treatment; however, no validated means exist to assess pain-related disability in children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to translate the Pediatric Pain Disability Index (P-PDI) of Varni into German and to investigate its psychometric qualities.


METHODS
Principal component and item analyses were conducted on outpatient (n=163) and inpatient samples (n=167) of adolescents suffering from chronic pain. Changes in pain-related disability 3 months after starting treatment were analysed in an outpatient sample of 110 adolescents. Correlations between pain-related disability, emotional variables and school absence as well as concordance with parents' ratings were investigated.


RESULTS
The P-PDI is a one-dimensional assessment tool with sufficient reliability. There were significant correlations between pain-related disability and pain intensity and school absence but not with pain duration, fear and depression. Parents and adolescents ratings correlated significantly, but 57% of parents underestimated the pain-related disability of their children.


CONCLUSIONS
There is now a validated German version of the P-PDI to measure pain-related disability in adolescents suffering from chronic pain, which can be used in studies investigating treatment effectiveness.
Hübner
B
B
Vodafone Stiftungsinstitut für Kinderschmerztherapie und Pädiatrische Palliativmedizin, Vestische Kinder- und Jugendklinik Datteln, Universität Witten/Herdecke, Dr.-Friedrich-Steiner-Str. 5, 45711 Datteln, Deutschland.
Hechler
T
T
Dobe
M
M
Damschen
U
U
Kosfelder
J
J
Denecke
H
H
Schroeder
S
S
Zernikow
B
B
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D059408:Pain Management; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012008:Recurrence